14 BEITISn FERNS. 



In annual Ferns the mature character is soon attained, 

 but in others, two or more years of growth is required before 

 they reach maturity, and a much longer_ period is of course 

 necessary to the maturity of those which acquire tree-like 

 stems. They, however, in most cases, soon begin to assume 

 something of their peculiar appearance. 



In these minute and almost invisible atoms, no less than 

 in the more ponderous materials which surround us, we dis- 

 cover the impress of Almighty and Creative power. They 

 teem with life ! No commixture of elementary matter no 

 electric shock guided by human agency, can originate that 

 vitality. Truly, the hand that made them is Divine ! 



The requisite conditions to induce the germination of the 

 spores of Ferns, in addition to the degree of heat proper for 

 the particular species to which they belong, is simply con- 

 tact with a continually damp earthy surface. Diffused light 

 is favourable to the young growth as soon as it begins to form. 

 It matters little in what way the principal conditions are 

 supplied. In confined situations congenial to Ferns, the 

 spores, which are shed as soon as they reach a certain degree 

 of ripeness, germinate freely on any undisturbed surface 

 with which they come in contact, whether it be the damp 

 soil, or damp brickwork, or the sides of the pots in which 

 the plants are growing. They grow very readily on the 

 rough surface of a piece of sandstone rock just kept 

 moistened. 



The most convenient way, however, to raise Ferns from 

 the spores, where cultivation is_the object, is to so w them on 

 the surface of moist loamy soil, in pots of convenient size, 

 the surface of the soil being kept an inch or more below the 

 level of the pot rim, so that a piece of flat glass may be laid 

 over the top, to secure a close and constantly moist atmo- 

 sphere, and prevent rapid evaporation. The pots should be 

 set in pans or feeders, in which water should be kept, so that 

 the soil may be constantly damp. The spores are to be 

 thinly scattered over the rough surface of the soil, and then 

 kept covered with the glass. 



A simple and convenient contrivance for sowing the spores, 

 by which the progress of germination might be very readily 

 watched, would consist in inverting a porous flowerpot in a 

 shallow dish or pan of water, large enough to take also the 

 rim of an enclosing bell-glass, which should cover some sur- 

 face of the water. A small cup or vase, set on the top of the 

 inverted pot, with two or three worsted siphons, would keep 

 its sides always damp; the spores scattered over the sides 



